1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the protection of robot arms exposed to corrosive atmospheres and, more particularly, to a system for congruently encapsulating the links of a multi-link robot arm with thin plastic corrosion resistant covers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Some robots devices that handle semiconductor wafers are required work in atmospheric environments that contain highly corrosive fluids (gaseous or liquid). These robotic devices require protection from the corrosive agents to improve overall performance of the product. If corrosion occurs, the arm members can generate particles that can lead to failures on the wafers being handled. One solution to this problem is to use materials that resist corrosion (i.e. 300 series stainless steel or coatings). In the case of robotic linkages, some designers have fabricated the arm members out of electro-polished stainless steel to improve corrosion resistance or prevent corrosive from occurring. Other designers have sprayed coatings on the structural materials to help isolate the corrosive agents from interacting with the base structural material thereby minimizing corrosion. The issues associated with these two solutions are cost of the material, the uniformity of the coatings and the ability of the material to resist permeation of the corrosive agents.
It was with knowledge of the foregoing state of the technology that the present invention has been conceived and is now reduced to practice.